A graduate of Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University, Nicole Wong (Class of 2022) first supported PLAN’s Jailhouse Law Library initiative full-time through the New York Court System’s Pro Bono Scholars Program (PBSP). As a PBSP Scholar, Nicole worked as a fully integrated member of the JLL team to expand JLL holdings through the development of a legal brief and know-your-rights guide for parents incarcerated in New York. In so doing, Nicole has helped incarcerated parents defend and protect their parental rights and sustain meaningful relationships with their children. She also developed new channels of JLL volunteer outreach in legal communities. Nicole also helped conceptualize PLAN’s 2022 national survey of incarcerated individuals, which will inform the priorities and trajectory of the JLL’s subsequent work. 

Nicole describes her work with PLAN as a tribute to her late father. She vividly recalls from their prison visits his descriptions of the inhumane conditions and fear of physical harm he endured inside. Nicole understands firsthand the feelings of heartache and helplessness that are engendered when a loved one inside recounts anguish about the conditions they are suffering. 

At Hofstra University’s School of Law, Nicole served on the staff of Hofstra Law Review. She also provided research support and wrote and reviewed drafts of legal writing as Research Assistant to Professor James J. Sample. In addition to a Bachelor’s Degree from the City University of New York, Nicole also comes to PLAN with a Master’s of Science in Teaching Secondary English Language Arts from the Fordham University School of Education. For two years, she was a Teach for America educator in underserved communities. Nicole worked for three years as Tutor Manager and Program Director of Academics for The Dorm Project, an innovative program at The New York Foundling that provides dormitory housing across multiple CUNY campuses along with comprehensive academic and social supports to help young people in the foster care system succeed in college and beyond. 

Nicole brings to the JLL team considerable experience designing, implementing, managing and sustaining outcomes-oriented initiatives that serve directly impacted people and their families in new and forward-looking ways. As a Founding Board Member and Vice-President of Programming for At the Table, Nicole oversees programming, budgeting, fundraising and evaluating the Executive Director for this non-profit organization, which provides academic and socio-emotional support for foster youth. Nicole’s considerable project management skills and her history of translating the criminal legal system’s impact on her life into programs that transform the lives of others equip her with insights and expertise that greatly enrich the JLL’s work. 

Nicole serves on the Board of Directors of the National Advisory Council On Children’s Legal Representation.  She is an Associate at Paul Hastings LLP.